2015-03-03T20:24:52ZThree Essays in Technology and Revenue Managementhttp://hdl.handle.net/1974/12660
Title: Three Essays in Technology and Revenue Management
Authors: Kirshner, Samuel
Abstract: In this dissertation, I apply optimization methods and game theory to address three problems in technology and revenue management. In the first essay, I analyze how brand commitment and product failure impact a firm's upgrade strategy in the presence of a stochastically evolving technological frontier. The essay explores the optimal timing of upgrades across a variety of market parameters and establishes the market conditions in which firms should invest in brand commitment to lengthen the product upgrade cycle. The model also demonstrates that firms with high brand commitment must balance the benefits of pent-up demand with potential loss due to product failure. The second and third essay focus on the allocation of resources and products in the presence of demand uncertainty and consumer behavior, respectively. In the second essay, I develop a methodology to approximate the value of capacity in the network airline revenue management problem. The value of capacity is used to control the sale of products to consumers requesting products over a finite time horizon. The advantage of this methodology is the scalability, which we demonstrate by solving for capacity values on an industrial sized network. In the third essay, I study a consumer-to-consumer exchange market. I prove that there exists market conditions where the equilibrium prices allow a unique opitmal allocation of products amongst participants.
Description: Thesis (Ph.D, Management) -- Queen's University, 2014-12-17 16:06:19.882014-12-18T05:00:00ZStrategic Improvisation in Turbulent Times: The Role of Information Systemshttp://hdl.handle.net/1974/12612
Title: Strategic Improvisation in Turbulent Times: The Role of Information Systems
Authors: Levallet, Nadège
Abstract: To remain competitive in today’s highly dynamic environments, organizations often need to act rapidly. To deal with urgent issues, top managers have to rapidly assess and act upon opportunities and threats. Strategic improvisation, a dynamic capability defined as top managers’ ability to spontaneously and creatively integrate, build, and reconfigure internal and external resources and capabilities to address unpredictable and rapidly changing strategic opportunities and threats, may positively impact organizational processes and overall performance. Additionally, information systems (IS) may facilitate strategic improvisation. For senior managers, the effective use of IS may enable the detection of new opportunities and threats, while facilitating the exploitation of existing knowledge to address them.
Using the dynamic capabilities perspective, this research addresses three research questions: 1) To what extent do IS and technology enable effective strategic improvisation? 2) How do organizational, information and knowledge factors influence strategic improvisation? 3) What are the specific effects of strategic improvisation on organizational outcomes?
The research proceeded in two main phases. First, case studies were conducted in two highly dynamic industries, software and consulting. Top managers from four medium-sized Canadian organizations were interviewed, and interview transcripts analyzed and coded. The second phase of the project was a survey, with data collected from 143 top managers in 100 medium-sized Canadian organizations. Results were analyzed using two methods, structural equation modeling and crisp set qualitative comparative analysis.
This study benefits both research and practice. It contributes to the literature on IT impact by establishing the role played by two IT capabilities, IT infrastructure flexibility and information management/knowledge management (IM/KM) capability in enabling strategic improvisation, as well as the moderating role of IS/IT strategy, especially innovative IS/IT strategy. This research benefits the improvisation research by studying improvisation at the top management level and demonstrating its impact on product/service flexibility, process flexibility and organizational learning. Findings also suggest that there are many ways to achieve strategic improvisation, through various configurations of organizational memory, IM/KM capability and IT infrastructure flexibility. Last, this research provides managers with practical recommendations on the most effective ways to develop a strategic improvisation capability.
Description: Thesis (Ph.D, Management) -- Queen's University, 2014-11-08 06:35:22.8912014-11-10T05:00:00ZChief Information Officer (CIO) Stereotyping: Content, Bias, and Impact.http://hdl.handle.net/1974/12522
Title: Chief Information Officer (CIO) Stereotyping: Content, Bias, and Impact.
Authors: Gonzalez, Paola A.
Abstract: Since the origin of the IT executive role in organizations, IS researchers have attempted to understand the barriers that Chief Information Officers (CIOs) face in their efforts to realize IT business value. One such challenge is the apparent disconnect between the growing importance of information technology to the success of organizations and the relegation of CIOs to tactical rather than strategic roles in their organizations, thereby hindering the transformative power of IT as a competitive advantage. This dissertation tackles this disconnect suggesting that CIOs are caught up within a widely-shared and entrenched stereotype of IT professionals that views them as lacking leadership competencies. Specifically, this dissertation puts forward the claim that CIOs may face a glass ceiling (similar to minority groups) and that stereotypical beliefs limit (if not deny) them the opportunity to drive the organization forward in the use of IT.
Four studies examined the content of these beliefs held by perceivers outside the IT profession and identified the contexts within which these beliefs can cause biased decision-making concerning the role of CIOs. Taken as a whole, this dissertation empirically tests the long-held anecdotal assumption of a CIO stereotype and identifies biases that can cause inequality perceptions at strategic levels of the organization; specifically, the perception of CIOs as "the last among equals" or as unequal members of the C-suite appears to limit their strategic involvement in corporate decision-making. This research contributes to the study of IT leadership and advances our understanding of the persistent 'perception gap' that has intrigued (and plagued) IS researchers and practitioners for a long time.
Description: Thesis (Ph.D, Management) -- Queen's University, 2014-09-28 15:54:57.8222014-09-30T04:00:00ZVicarious Exposure to Male Sexual Harassment: Correlates, Perceived Motives and Ethical Evaluations, & Behavioral Responseshttp://hdl.handle.net/1974/12271
Title: Vicarious Exposure to Male Sexual Harassment: Correlates, Perceived Motives and Ethical Evaluations, & Behavioral Responses
Authors: Dionisi, ANGELA
Abstract: Despite the increasing attention given to the issue of sexual harassment by organizational scholars, important questions remain unanswered, particularly when it comes to the unique experiences of those who witness the sex-based mistreatment of their peers. Further still, as the sexual harassment of males has only recently captured the attention of researchers, much remains to be learned about situations involving this form of sexual harassment. My dissertation focuses on employees who witness the sex-based mistreatment of their male colleagues. More specifically, three studies focus on same-sex (male-on-male) and/or opposite-sex (female-on-male) male sexual harassment and the impact that observing this phenomenon has on female and male employees. First, I examine how witnessing the sexual harassment of a male colleague impacts one’s well-being, emotions, and collective self-esteem. Second, I investigate what observers of male sexual harassment believe motivates an aggressor to harass a male colleague, and how such beliefs are impacted by (a) the form of the harassment they witness, and (b) who perpetrates this harassment. Demonstrating what conditions will lead to an evaluation of a male sexual harassment incident as unethical is also a primary goal of this investigation. Last, I explore the behavioral responses of witnesses to male-on-male gender harassment. More specifically, I aim to identify factors that affect whether observers will choose to intervene on behalf of the target, or participate in the male sexual harassment that they witness.
Description: Thesis (Ph.D, Management) -- Queen's University, 2014-07-05 13:17:17.9752014-07-07T04:00:00Z